Does Small Dam Removal Affect Local Property Values? An Empirical Analysis

This paper uses hedonic analysis to examine the impact of small dam removal on property values in South-central Wiscosin. Data on residential property sales were obtained for three categories of sites: those where a dam is intact, those where a dam was recently removed, and those where the stream has been free-flowing for at least 20 years. The primary conclusions that emerge from the data are that residential property located in the vicinity of a free-flowing stream is more valuable than identical property in the vicinity of a small impoundment, and that shoreline frontage along small impoundments confers no increase in residential property value compared to frontage along free-flowing streams.